Three hospital nurses who falsified blood sugar readings of vulnerable patients have been struck off.

Lauro Bertulano, Natalie Jones and Rebecca Jones, who worked at Bridgend’s Princess of Wales Hospital, pleaded guilty to wilful neglect in 2015.

Two were jailed and another handed a community order by Cardiff Crown Court.

Now they have been struck off the nursing register following a two-day Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing in Cardiff.

Last year, the court had heard they were “too lazy” to check the glucose levels of vulnerable people on a specialist stroke ward and made up readings instead.

It meant that some patients went hours before having genuine tests carried out – including a bedridden 82-year-old whose blood sugar was not checked for more than a day.

On Tuesday, the NMC decision came after the tribunal was told Rebecca Jones was sentenced to eight months and Bertulano to four months while Natalie Jones was given a 12-month community order.

It heard their ability to act as nurses were “impaired” by their convictions.

NMC panel chairwoman Helen Potts said: “Convictions of this nature strike at the heart of the nurse and patient relationship, undermine the trust and confidence the public place in nurses.

“(They) acted dishonestly… over a prolonged period of time… breaching the fundamental tenets of the profession to make the care of people [their] first concern and to act with honesty and integrity.”

Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board, which runs the hospital, said their behaviour was “totally unacceptable”.

A statement said: “As soon as we had become aware of anomalies around some blood sugar tests, we did not hesitate to bring our concerns to the attention of South Wales Police; and we cooperated fully with the investigation which followed.

“These issues related to historical events some years ago. We can give assurances that regular checks since then have revealed no further problems.”

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